White Water

The views were impressive from the top, where we took a break to have a picnic. This was our favourite hike so far.
On our way home we stopped in Palm Springs to go to the weekly Village Festival.Leia mais
Joshua Tree National Park

We saved the best for last. Forty-five minutes east of our condo was the southern entrance to the strangely beautiful Joshua Tree National Park. Two deserts come together in this 800,000 acre park.Leia mais
Joshua Tree National Park

This hike was rated "strenuous" but only because it involved scrambling up and over rocks. Tremendous earth forces shaped this unusual land of granite monoliths. The cholla cactus adds interest toLeia mais
Joshua Tree National Park

In the 1800s miners came and tunnelled the earth looking for gold. The Lost Horse and Desert Queen mines remain. Can you find Linda in the middle photo? We took a break to act silly :)
Escondido

Our next stop was 180 km SW to the Welk Resort in Escondido. We were assigned a beautiful, newly renovated 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit. Each bathroom had double sinks. A large, nicely furnished balconyLeia mais
Escondido

We spent the first 2 days getting settled into our new home, exploring the towns of San Marcos and Escondido, and stocking up on food and wine. The GPS proved to be very unreliable and often gotLeia mais
Escondido

Daley Ranch is a 3,000 acre conservation area in the city of Escondido. We chose the 4 km Boulder Loop Trail that was a popular trail with the locals and had nice views of the city. What's a hikeLeia mais
San Diego

We started our day trip with a stop at The Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge and Estuary, the largest coastal wetland in Southern California. It is 1,750 square miles with 3/4 of it in Mexico.Leia mais
Joshua Tree National Park

We left our condo at 7 am in order to drive 2 l/2 hours to Palm Springs because Alyssa was arriving at PSP today!! Despite our best efforts, her flight arrived l/2 hour early so she sat outside toLeia mais
Joshua Tree National Park

We drove along Park Boulevard which loops into the main area of the park with the most interesting features. There are many stops along the way with short, less than a mile, hikes. Joshua Tree is aLeia mais
Joshua Tree National Park

The San Andreas fault line as seen from a very windy viewpoint. We all thought camping in the park would be a unique experience but I would refuse to stay in a tent.....there are 25 varieties ofLeia mais
Joshua Tree National Park

The cameras were well used today! We were puzzled by the fine, natural engraving in the rock and never did come up with an explanation. Alyssa was a real trooper, considering that she only had 2 hoursLeia mais
Temecula

The Temecula Valley wine growing region was a l/2 hour drive from our resort. Although there are almost 40 vineyards in the area, we only went to one wine tasting at the Lorimar Winery. It was $14Leia mais
Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve

This 2,000 acre park is within the city limits of San Diego and is the home of the rare Torrey pine. Our hike started at beach level and climbed and climbed. The view from the top was so worth it.
La Jolla

Twenty km further south on the Pacific Coast Highway is the very pretty, upscale town of La Jolla. There was a high surf advisory with impressive wave action.
La Jolla Cove

The baby seals were the highlight of the day, especially for animal-lover Alyssa. Sadly, over 185 baby seals have been rescued by SeaWorld this year. They are having trouble finding food and then areLeia mais
Carlsbad

We stayed at the Marriott La Jolla last night as we couldn't move into our timeshare until today. The Carlsbad Seapointe Resort assigned us a 2 bedroom corner unit on the 3rd floor, which was veryLeia mais
Oceanside

Yesterday was our first bad weather day as it drizzled on and off all day. It was a perfect excuse to go the Carlsbad Premium Outlet Mall.
Today the sun was back. Alyssa decided she wanted to walk toLeia mais
San Diego

Nancy decided to stay home today while the rest of us went to the much anticipated San Diego Zoo. The 100 acre Zoo is located in Balboa Park and is home to 3,700 rare and endangered species. WeLeia mais
San Diego

There were cute and cuddly bears.
San Diego

We were lucky to see a one month old baby gorilla. The colourful one was not very bashful as he nonchalantly primed himself for a sexual encounter with a female.
San Diego

My child found other ways to entertain herself :-)
Overall we concluded that we were disappointed in this zoo. Perhaps our expectations were too high as we had often heard or read that the San DiegoLeia mais
Encinitas

We went on a pleasant drive south along the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas for a picnic. It was high tide so there wasn't much beach to enjoy. However, adjacent to theLeia mais
Palm Springs

It was time to move on. We took Nancy to the train station in Oceanside where she caught a train to LA and would be picked up by Mandy. Her flight home wasn't until February 1st. The rest of usLeia mais
Palm Springs

We hiked for l l/2 hours on the Palm Canyon trail. The full length was 15 miles but we had time restrictions as you had to be off the reserve by 5 pm or they would tow your car.....and they wereLeia mais